Full Tilt Poker debuts Private Tournaments

Likely created to keep up with PokerStars very popular Home Games poker leagues, Full Tilt Poker released a software update this past week that allows players on the site to create Private Tournaments.

Similar to PokerStars Home Games, the Private Tournaments at Full Tilt Poker are highly customizable, allowing the creator of the tournament to set the format of the tournament -everything from, shootouts, to cashouts, to rebuys, to Rush Poker is available; as well as the standard freezeout tournament. Additionally players can set the blind structure, starting chips, and can choose any buy-in amount from $1 up to $1,000.

Private Tournaments at Full Tilt Poker can be set up to replay wither Daily, Weekly, or Monthly for a total of five times before a new tournament needs to be created.

The one thing lacking from the Full Tilt Poker Private Tournaments is that each tournament is password protected, so unlike PokerStars Home Games a player cannot simply join a league once and gain access to all of that league’s tournaments; at Full Tilt you must have the password for each tournament -a small inconvenience, but still an inconvenience.

Another difference between the two is Full Tilt will not boast the league leader-boards and other features that have made PokerStars Home Games a smash hit. Even though I feel PokerStars Home Games are the superior product, it’s nice to see Full Tilt keeping pace and putting their own spin on Home Games.

For more information on Full Tilt Poker’s Private Tournaments you can visit their website at FullTiltPoker.com

Also in the latest software was a new store item that allows players to purchase Ring Game Tickets. These Ring Game Tickets allow players to purchase $10, $25, $50, $100, or $200 tickets that can be used to buy into cash games at Full Tilt Poker.

The catch is that before you can access the amount of the ticket as normal funds, you must first clear a certain number of FTP’s based on the value of the ticket:

• $10 Ticket - 250 FTP’s
• $25 Ticket - 625 FTP’s
• $50 Ticket - 1,250 FTP’s
• $100 Ticket - 2,500 FTP’s
• $200 Ticket - 5,000 FTP’s

Furthermore, your Ring Game Ticket can increase and decrease in value as you use it. So unlike a deposit bonus should you purchase a $200 ticket and lose $50, you must still clear the 5,000 FTP’s but will only receive the remaining balance of your ticket. On the other hand, if you work that $200 up to $440 you would receive the entire $440 when you reach the 5,000 FTP threshold.

The Ring Game Tickets are a bit confusing, but they will definitely be a hit with cash game players at the site, especially high-volume cash game players!

For more information on Ring Game Tickets you can visit the FullTiltPoker.com